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Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!
Inevitabilities
By Rasika Wijayaratne
We spend so much time grooming
and decorating ourselves that we forget to see the true nature of our bodies. As
young Buddhists it is important to see its true nature, so as it changes with time
we are more capable of accepting and dealing with it rather than trying to fight
it in ways that can cause us loss of time, happiness, wealth and our own health.
It is when an understanding
of the true nature of the body is not present that people suffer. In most cases
people are unhappy with bodily changes and try various skins creams, drugs, diets
and therapies to slow down or reverse this process. These are not harmful in general
but can be a wasteful in terms of money, time, happiness, etc. There are also some
that take ones step further and resort to treatments such as plastic surgery which
is both expensive and harmful if performed incorrectly or too many times. When things
are put into perspective however we would only find that we need not go this far.1
Apart from our bodies getting
old ever nearing death is the other inevitability that we need to keep in our minds.
Would you worry about your appearance after death? The body degenerates and becomes
putrid, bloated, discoloured, stiff, and various odours begin to emanate from it
within a day or so. So much effort is made to make it presentable for display in
the coffin including chemical treatment and making it up to hide the characteristics
of death. If we could see our own body after death we would most probably exclaim,
“That’s not me!” The Lord Buddha described the body in this way (Kayagata-sati
Sutta):
“Furthermore, as if he were
to see a corpse cast away in a charnel ground -- one day, two days, three days dead
-- bloated, livid, & festering, he applies it to this very body, ‘This body,
too: Such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate’...”
If we are fortunate enough,
we will live a long, peaceful and healthy life and also die peacefully. But no one
can exactly say when, where and how they will die. Who knows, we could die within
the next hour! When we bring this to mind we feel a certain urgency to live life
to the fullest and to avoid doing bad things. Living life to the fullest does not
however mean that we go out party hard, oblivious to everything and everyone. A
full life is a life lived with good actions, ones that are worth looking back and
being happy about rather being regretful. A life lived in accordance with the five precepts is the foundation
of such a full life.
Related Youth Articles
1. However This is not to say
that one’s appearance and physical cleanliness should be neglected.
Related Youth Articles
1.
Daily Dâna by Rasika Wijayaratne (on generosity)
[ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana
]
2.
Five Precepts by Rasika Wijayaratne (on morality)
[ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil
]
3.
Metta Meditation by Rasika Wijayaratne (basic instructions on the meditation
on loving-kindness)
[
http://vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed ]
Related Suttas
1. MN 119, Kayagata-sati Sutta, Mindfulness Immersed in the Body, Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
[
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.119.than.html ]
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